The time has come to tell VINCI that Portugal is not the banana republic – ECO
The Government has come forward with Montijo’s solution, but, in truth, VINCI should have done it.
In the 21st century, companies have to be profitable, but the mere maximization of wealth for shareholders is no longer alone in management’s goals. Social responsibility, in its capacity, is crucial for successful companies. It does not seem to us that we have guided ANA-Vinci in the process related to that of the Lisbon airport. Instead, the contempt for the environment, the lightness of the solution and the violations of legislation and the contract were notorious, in the genesis of the alternative offered by the ANA-Vinci concessionaire.
It was common knowledge that the vast majority of the estuary’s birds were on the banks of the Tagus estuary; To confirm, it was enough to look at the count in the 2009/10 ornithological yearbook, which accounts for more than 99% of the estuary in the multiple refuges on the south bank (on the north bank there is only one refuge in Alverca with less than 1%).
The order for a study to EUROCONTROL was for a capacity of 72mov/h (concession contract 90mov/h) and re all the existing runways in the Air Bases, since they do not converge in the past, and there are three runways with the main runway of Portela .
According to the process, they were blatant: only delivered the Environmental Impact Study (EIA des) 25% of the VINCI solution, of the main contractual technical specifications of annex 16 was met (of runways, connection to the system network, … the transfer of the neighboring chemical complex (unlike Frankfurt) and it even seemed that the reflection of climate change on the Portela and Montijo infrastructure was something for a hundred years from now.
In Montijo, not even the accounts were right. The description until the end of the concession was 67M passengers, which means, with the average per AN (rounded 15,000mov.), a volume of 432,000mov. However, from 194,000 passengers, starting at 26,000 passengers (and the rest leaving). With the ANAC average, Montijo would have to withstand 172,000mov (432,000-260,000), double that assessed by the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA).
Against this background, any pre-assessment would have failed Montijo. But this was not the case, with an attempt to devise a “technical solution” for the new Montijo 01-19 runway for civil-military use, which replaced the military runway 08-26, in relation to which the distance available to land runway from 2.4040m to 2.4040m, the taxiway is no longer the compliance (plane to the top), the end-of-own safety distance to less than half and reaching the system. landing aid with 900m (CATI).
It sounds surreal, but it’s an economic inevitability. A 2,500m runway with 300m safety requires a platform with a distance length of 3,100m. And a taxiway like the one that exists today, needs a platform with a width of 400m. Which together means more than double the area over water. Worse, the “Obstacles Free Surface” of the take-off would prevent navigation in the channel and the support structure of the landing aid system would cut the navigation channel, which would force a new one to be opened, to the south of Rato Island.
It’s a lot of money, irreconcilable with the revenue of a low-cost airport. Therefore, ANA-VINCI presented a “thigh” solution. And it was not pleased with the APA when this entity chose, well, the solution of advancing the platform over water supported by piles, as three possibilities put forward by VINCI (one on embankment, one on piles and a mixed one). VINCI was aware of the extraordinary increase in cost that would result in the event of being reviewed and, therefore, repudiating its own option.
Three VINCI “Sins”
- It closes the runway in Portela to reinforce the cross city and the last European HUB inside the single runway, to which an airport on the runway on the other side of the rivalry cousins and in which the planes would have to dribble unique bands of birds.
- In the Montijo EIA, the volume forecast for Portela was 260,000 movewhen it was already known that, in Lisbon, only the partial rise of 142,000 move to 180,000 had already caused an increase of 180,000 people decided by the noise. In contrast, at the same time, the Nantes concession to VINCI was terminated because the French State wanted to implement a solution that eliminates the noise over 6,800 people.
- VINCI is a shareholder in the company that manages Parisian airports Bourget and CDG (so close to each other from Portela and Alverca), which make parallel approaches concomitant with an improvement of transversal approaches of 1.3NM (2.4km), thanks a new runway at the first airport parallel to the lanes at the second. Based on this simple and irrefutable proof, VINCI should have resolved the misunderstanding of the technicians who told the tutelage that the new Alverca track would be in the middle of the river because the minimum investment is 3NM (5.5km).
All consequences of the concessionaire’s alternative are the responsibility of ANA-Vinci
It is unquestionable that the Montijo 01-19 runway does not have the conditions to make a small airport viable. low cost. ANA-Pública and NAV had not had in the past and always had expedients to fit a short and regular runway, just one more confirmation. It’s a waste of time.
However, in 2017, VINCI was already fully aware of the dual structuring of the pair of lanes parallel to the Alverca-Portela HUB, which was similar, for the better, to the Bourget-CDG structuring. The following year, he already knew the result of the AAE of the HUB Alverca-Portela in which he won, notably, the HUB Portela + Montijo and the HUB Alcochete.
However, the company, probably confident in its Leiina position, persisted with Montijo (25% of traffic) without presenting anything from Portela, November passed that only the Assembly of the Republic scrapped 2020, voting in favor of holding an AAE with the total of the solution.
Arriving here, we have, on the one hand, the incapacity of Montijo and the delay and the huge cost of the HUB Alcochete with accessibilities and, on the other hand, the simplicity and speed of the Alverca alternative, with the accessibilities already built.
The interim concession is foreseen Alternative of the concessionaire to the NAL (New Airport of Lisoba) and, if it is not adequate, the Alternative of the concession to the NAL, but nothing regarding the possibility of three airports, with Portela operating + Montijo operating + CT Definitive buckle to be built, closing the first two with the conclusion of the last one.
And what Montijo intercalary? The insufficient/dangerous Montijo track or another developed by the guardianship? It is an intricate legal and technical web, needing a lot of time to resolve. This contrasts with the simplicity/low cost of Alverca and the low cost opening in 2.5 years.
The Government has come forward with the solution but, in truth, it is VINCI that should have done so. Well, well, it would be good if the minister of tutelage, with the courage that is recognizable, would put a point of order in VINCI and in the shaky alternative of Montijo. Portugal is not the banana republic!
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